Wichita Heights basketball star Perry Ellis narrows school choices

Heights junior forward Perry Ellis hasn't made a decision yet as to where he will be playing his college basketball, but Friday morning he narrowed the list of potential schools down to six.

Heights' Perry Ellis drives to the basket against Southeast's Hayden Harris in the 4th quarter Saturday night at Koch Arena. Ellis led the Falcons to a 66-58 victory with a game high 25 points. (Jan. 8, 2011)
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Heights' Perry Ellis goes up for two against Leavenworth in the 2nd quarter during their semifinal game at the 6A State Championships in Emporia Friday (March 12, 2010).
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Heights' Perry Ellis shows off a new haircut before playing South. (2009)
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Heights' Perry Ellis pulls down a rebound in the third period against East. (2009)
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Heights' Perry Ellis (34) and Keith Riley (23) get congratulated after defeating Manhattan 56-41 in a quarterfinal game at the Class 6A state tournament in Emporia on Thursday. (March 11, 2010)
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Heights' Perry Ellis dunks the ball against Southeast in the third quarter Tuesday (Feb. 9, 2010) at Heights High.
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Heights' Perry Ellis (34) battles Southeast's Joseph Randle for a rebound in the first period Saturday. (2009)
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Perry Ellis of Brooks Middle School towers over other middle school players while grabbing a rebound Wednesday night during a game at Heights High School. (2008)
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Perry Ellis of Heights is defended by Manhattan's Alex Reed and Matt Hanson in the first period on Wednesday. (March 4, 2009)
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East's Marcus Adams tries to get around Heights' Perry Ellis in the fourth period. (2009)
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Heights' Perry Ellis looks to pass as he's defended by Manhattan's William Kern in the third quarter of their quarterfinal game at the Class 6A state tournament in Emporia on Thursday. (March 11, 2010)
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Heights' Perry Ellis takes a shot at the basket past two Southeast defenders during the first period on Tuesday (Feb. 10, 2009)
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Heights' Perry Ellis tips a ball in for two points against Southeast's Taylor Rock in the second half. (2009)
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Perry Ellis of Heights is defended by Manhattan's Colton Rohr in the second period on Wednesday. (March 4, 2009)
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Heights' Perry Ellis get fouled by East's Marcus Adams in the first period. (2009)
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Heights' Perry Ellis tips the ball in during their quarterfinal game with Manhattan in the third quarter at the Class 6A state tournament Thursday in Emporia. (March 11, 2010)
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Perry Ellis of Brooks Middle School towers over other middle school players while grabbing a rebound Wednesday night during a game at Heights High School. (2008)
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Perry Ellis, Heights High School. (2009)
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Northwest's Anthony Collins is blocked by Heights' Perry Ellis in the first quarter of Friday night's game at Heights. (2010)
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Perry Ellis of Heights grabs a rebound over Manhattan's Connor Brooks in the first period on Wednesday. (March 4, 2009)
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Heights' Perry Ellis gets his shot blocked by East's Marcus Adams (23) in the first period. (2009)
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Heights' Perry Ellis goes up for two against Leavenworth in the second quarter during their semifinal game at the Class 6A state tournament in Emporia on Friday. (March 12, 2010)
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Perry Ellis, right, of Brooks Middle School, gets ready to defend against Stucky's Gavin Thurman Wednesday night during a game at Heights High School. The two players, both well over 6 feet tall, will play at Heights next year. (2008)
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Heights' Perry Ellis shoots for two against Bishop Carroll's Jarred Maxwell in the second half on Tuesdayat Heights High. (Jan. 12, 2010)
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Heights' Perry Ellis leads the fast break against Dodge City in the first half of their 63-56 victory in the opening round of the Class 6A state tournament in Emporia on Wednesday. (2009)
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Heights' Perry Ellis leads a fast break. (2009)
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Heights' Perry Ellis shoots over Leavenworth's Jarrid Dean during their semifinal game at the Class 6A state tournament in Emporia on Friday. (March 12, 2010)
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Perry Ellis of Brooks Middle School looks for a shot against Stucky's Gavin Thurman Wednesday night during a game at Heights High School. The two players, both well over 6 feet tall, will play at Heights next year. (2008)
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Bishop Carroll's Blake Bell runs into Heights' Perry Ellis as he drives the lane in the second half on Tuesday at Heights High. (Jan. 12, 2010)
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Heights' Perry Ellis makes a move to the basket against Dodge City's Miles Morin and Mitch Goedeken (50) in the second half. (2009)
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Fonda Ellis, mother of Heights High School basketball standout Perry Ellis, cheers for her son in the stands on Feb. 5, 2010. Fonda's husband, Will Ellis, sits on the opposite side of the court. She likes to sit behind the bench where she keeps her own statistics.
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Heights' Perry Ellis makes a move towards the basket against Leavenworth's Tony Dougherty, left, and Kyle Wiggins (11) in the third quarter during their semifinal game at the Class 6A state tournament in Emporia on Friday. (March 12, 2010)
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Perry Ellis, an eighth-grader at Brooks Middle School, is introduced before the start of Brooks' game against Stucky Middle School on Wednesday. Colleges are already looking at Ellis for basketball. (2008)
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Heights' Perry Ellis (2009)
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Heights' Perry Ellis goes up for two in the first half against Dodge City's Mitch Goedeken during their 63-56 victory in the opening round of the Class 6A state tournament Wednesday in Emporia. (2009)
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Will Ellis, father of Heights High School basketball standout Perry Ellis, sits in the stands at Heights during their game against Kapaun. (Feb. 5, 2010)
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Heights' Perry Ellis hits a three in the first half with SM Northwest. Ellis had 13 points during their Class 6A semifinal victory Friday in Emporia. (2009)
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Heights' Perry Ellis scores from under the basket in the second quarter against Northwest Friday evening. (2010)
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Heights' Perry Ellis goes up for two against North's Spencer Robertson (32) and Briston White, right, in the first period. (2009)
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Heights' Perry Ellis drives to the basket for two against Manhattan's Ryan Wilkinson in the fourth quarter during their quarterfinal game at the Class 6A state tournament in Emporia on Thursday. Ellis led Heights in scoring with 17 points during their 56-41 victory. (March 11, 2010)
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Heights coach Joe Auer hugs Perry Ellis after defeating Blue Valley Northwest in the championship game at the Class 6A state tournament in Emporia on Saturday. (March 13, 2010)
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Heights' Perry Ellis goes up for two against South's Tony Buchanan during their 73-46 victory Thursday night. Heights finished the season undefeated in the City League. (2009)
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Heights' Perry Ellis pulls down a rebound with help from teammate Keith Riley in the second period. (2009)
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Heights' Perry Ellis drives to the basket for two against Manhattan in the fourth quarter during their quarterfinal game at the Class 6A state tournament in Emporia on Thursday. Ellis led Heights in scoring with 17 points during their 56-41 victory. (March 11, 2010)
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Heights' Perry Ellis warms before his game with Southeast on Tuesday at Heights High. (Feb.9, 2010)
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Heights' Perry Ellis takes a shot over Blue Valley Northwest's Brett Bond in the second quarter during the championship game at the Class 6A state tournament in Emporia on Saturday. (March 13, 2010)
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Heights' Perry Ellis and South's Dante Burchette battle for a rebound in the second period. (2009)
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Heights' Perry Ellis has a laugh with assistant coach Gary Thomason after coming out in the final minute and half of their quarterfinal game with Manhattan at the Class 6A state tournament in Emporia on Thursday. (March 11, 2010)
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Heights' Perry Ellis (34) goes up for a shot against Southeast's Gavin Thurman, left, and Kevin Gunter (21) in the first period Tuesday at Heights High. (Feb. 9, 2010)
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Heights' Perry Ellis takes a shot against Blue Valley Northwest's Tyler Brashears (2) and Morgan Smith (11) during the championship game at the Class 6A state tournament in Emporia on Saturday (March 13, 2010).
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Heights' Perry Ellis drives against Hutchinson's Nate Dreiling in the second period. (2009)
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Heights' Perry Ellis (34) rebounds against Manhattan in the fourth quarter during their quarterfinal game at the Class 6A state tournament in Emporia on Thursday. (March 11, 2010)
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Heights' Perry Ellis goes up for a shot against Southeast's Reggie Williams (10) in the fourth period Tuesday (Feb. 9, 2010) at Heights High.
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Heights' Perry Ellis (34) and Dreamius Smith (5) smother Southeast's Cecil Shaw in the second period during their 73-58 victory in the Class 6A championship game in Emporia. (2009)
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Perry Ellis of Heights grabs a rebound over Manhattan's Colton Rohr in the second period on Wednesday. (March 4, 2009)
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Heights' Perry Ellis goes up for a shot between two defenders in the first quarter of Friday's game against East. (2009)
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Seven-year-old Perry Ellis jumps in practice for the long jump; he has the state record and is ranked No. 1. (2001)
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Perry Ellis, front left, LaQua Mayes right, Timothy Rockett, back left, and Nate Wilkins, right, the four-member of the 4x100 meter relay that is going to the USATF National Track and Field Meet in Omaha July 25-28, 2002.
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Perry Ellis, left, gets the hand-off from LaQua Mayes, right, during a practice for the 4x100 relay. The team is going to compete in Omaha in the USATF National Track and Field Meet. (2002)
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“We’ve kind of had an idea which schools it would be for a while,” said Ellis, a 6-foot-8 forward. “These were the top schools that have been there and supporting me. It has been a long process.æ.æ.æ. They were the schools that came at me the hardest.”

Fonda Ellis, Perry’s mother, said that once the coaches of the remaining schools received the news, they sent e-mails expressing how excited they were to still be in the running. One of the first to respond was Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall, who already has a future Falcon in 6-foot-5 senior Evan Wessel.

Fonda Ellis said her son will probably announce his decision next November, after taking recruiting visits.

“They all give me opportunities to be successful,” Perry Ellis said. “I like all of the coaches. I feel blessed to get the opportunity to have the schools looking at me.”

Four of the six schools are within three hours of Ellis’ home, a consideration he has said is important.

“It just so happened that the schools I was most comfortable with were close,” Ellis said. “It would be nice to see my parents come to my games — have some support.”

Ellis and his teammates will have a chance to watch Kansas today. The Falcons will watch USC meet Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse before traveling to Kansas City, Mo., to play Nixa (Mo.) in the Hy-Vee Shootout at 7:30 Saturday.

Ellis helped lead Heights to Class 6A titles in 2009 and 2010. As a junior, Ellis is averaging 20 points and seven rebounds. He averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds as a freshman and 22 points and 10 rebounds as a sophomore.